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24/05/2023

I know what you’re thinking: “they made three of these already?” Yup, the big numero tres. I haven’t played the first two Nickelodeon Kart Racers, but I figured it had been too long since I last played a kart game. I loved Mario Kart on the SNES and N64 as a kid but mostly grew out of the genre and moved onto faster, more realistic racers. But there’s something that’s just cuddly about playing as a childhood favorite character, listening to them quip, and drifting around a cartoony track while slamming the other racers with items. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway doesn’t break new ground, but it offers everything you expect in a neat little package.

Much like most other genre entries, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway has no story mode. It starts with a tutorial where you’re SpongeBob attempting to get his driver’s license, which is cute. Afterward, you have free reign of all the game’s modes. There’s a good amount of single-player content, considering. The big one is the game’s grand prix mode, which is divided into 10 cups with four races each. You have to clear the previous nine to unlock the 10th, but the 10th is made up of four tracks that are in other cups, including two of the ninth cup’s tracks.

But there’s a healthy amount of tracks included, 36 in total, and all inspired by Nickelodeon properties. For instance, there are multiple SpongeBob tracks. All four of the tracks in one cup are inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. The tracks are often varied and well designed, outside of a few pesky outliers. A Ninja Turtles-themed track sees you driving on rooftops. But one of the jumps is spotty and can be impossible to make if you bounce too much from a previous jump. Thankfully, this is an uncommon issue.

Choose your favorite

There are 40 different racers available in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway, but that’s a teensy bit misleading. There’s both a green and purple Reptar as separate characters. All four Ninja Turtles are here, although Raphael dons his classic (mostly) black and white appearance from the original Eastman-Laird comic. Leo and Raph are both available from the outset, but you’ll have to buy Mikey in the garage and complete all 36 of the races in the time trial mode to unlock Donnie. No other character, save for possibly one, takes as much effort to unlock.

There are also two versions of SpongeBob and Patrick — their usual appearances and their Muppet Babies spin-off ones. The variety of racers does mostly make great use of the Nickelodeon properties, although the properties are a bit unbalanced in terms of representation. There are six SpongeBob characters, five Ninja Turtles characters, four Rugrats characters, and four Avatar characters (if you count Korra, which you should, right?). Meanwhile, only Rocko from Rocko’s Modern Life is playable, as well as Oblina from Aaahh!!! Real monsters, Danny from Danny Phantom, and Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot. And zero classic Fairly OddParents characters! No Cosmo! No Wanda!

The racers all have their own stats, varying by weight, speed, acceleration, and handling. You can also pick whether you want them to drive a specific kart or bike, different components, and paint jobs. All of these (save for the paint jobs) give you a fair amount of control of how your chosen racer performs. Then you get to pick three crew members who give active and passive abilities. There are a ton of these, and they can easily change up the way the game goes from giving you extra boosts to chargeable attacks.

Get your slime on

The kart racing itself is pretty darn good in Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway. The drifting can feel a bit off, but it’s better than I expected once you get a feel for the driving physics. If you drift for long enough, you’ll be able to boost when you let go, just like other kart racers. Orange Nickelodeon blimps line the tracks and give you your items when ran over. Everything here is mostly a different version of the items in other kart racers. The one I hate the most is Hans from SpongeBob which works kind of like the Mario Kart squid, except it blocks you from seeing what’s in front of you. I really can’t stand that arm.

You’ll also throw items via a homing football or an arm in a jack-in-the-box that tosses a pie — cute. You’ll find coins scattered around the tracks that fill up your slime gauge, plus literal slime on the track that if you drive on top of or through will increase your slime gauge. If you fill your gauge up all the way, you can use your active crew power.

But that’s not all. Tracks also have slime slides that you can ride on automatically. All you need to do is jump over the obstacles on the way. Tracks are loaded with shortcuts and ways of getting around that you’ll get accustomed to with familiarity. You get to keep 10 of the slime coins you keep per event, which you can use to purchase new items in the garage. These include racers, crew members, and parts and bodies for your karts (and bikes). The only issue is that the prices are pretty hefty. If you collect 10 coins per race, it can take 17 or more races to buy a single character, which seems a bit much. After fully completing the grand prix mode and doing a bunch of challenges, I only had enough coins for four.

You vs. Squidward

But the challenges do make this a bit easier, as they’re often much shorter and you can use them to farm 10 coins in a minute or less, depending. The challenges put you in a specific kart with a specific character and task you with accomplishing something, such as overtaking all the other karts or pulling off a certain number of stunt jumps. There are six tiers of challenges and completing four in each will unlock a boss battle, which is really just a race against a character you haven’t unlocked. Beat them and the character is yours.

There are even more modes on top of these. There’s the time trial mode, free races, capture the flag, demolition derby, and a multiplayer arena mode. There are multiple game types for the latter, such as one where you must paint more of the floor than the other team.

My biggest problem with Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway definitely comes down to the AI. Getting past everyone aside from the racer in first place is insanely easy regardless of what speed you’ve selected. But whoever’s in first place gets some truly obnoxious rubber-banding. They almost always seem to go faster than you to the point where they get bursts out speed from literally nowhere. As such, I was surprised by how often I got second place. But it’s moot, because the four tracks in each cup will see different racers become your primary threat. Even if you get second place every time, you’re still likely to get first overall.

Still, I like Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway. It’s got a good amount of content, the racing is solid, and the characters and tracks are brimming with personality (and all characters have voice acting!). That all adds up to an easy recommendation for anyone looking for more Nickelodeon kart racing. If the multiplayer scene is active, there could be a real time sink here. And you won’t have to deal with the stupid cheating AI.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway review — Rocko’s modern kart

Source: Philippines Poverty

I know what you’re thinking: “they made three of these already?” Yup, the big numero tres . I haven’t played the first two Nickelodeon Kart...

24/05/2023

Dramatic Labs’ upcoming Star Trek game was first announced in December 2021. At the time, Dramatic Labs revealed that it would release in Spring 2022. Obviously, this didn’t happen, as it was then pushed back to sometime in 2022. Today, Dramatic Labs has confirmed that Star Trek Resurgence is being delayed once again, this time to April 2023.

In an announcement tweet, Dramatic Labs details why the delay is necessary. It states that production has been advancing throughout the summer, but development still needs more time. By delaying Star Trek Resurgence, it hopes to have the time necessary to add a final coat of polish and create a “truly immersive Star Trek experience.”

The developer emphasizes its love and admiration for Star Trek. Dramatic Labs believes that not delaying the game further would result in fans receiving an unsatisfactory product. This is clearly a passion project that Dramatic Labs is keen not to mess up. Dramatic Labs rounds off the announcement by stating how grateful its employees are to work on such an iconic IP and universe.

When you don’t delay enough

On one hand, it’s always frustrating to see a highly anticipated game like Star Trek Resurgence delayed. Star Trek fans will be eager to play it, and having to wait several more months to do so isn’t anyone’s idea of fun. However, most people these days tend to understand that delays like this are often necessary. Pushing back a game and making sure it’s up to standards is always the better choice than releasing an unfinished product and disappointing everyone.

We’ve seen plenty of examples in the past of what happens when a game is rushed out. From Battlefield 2042 to Fallout 76 to Cyberpunk 2077, rushed games almost always elicit the same response. They upset fans and make players lose faith in both the associated developer and publisher.

pic.twitter.com/yor2qmAx6u

— Star Trek Resurgence () October 13, 2022

Star Trek Resurgence has been delayed to April 2023

Source: Philippines Poverty

Dramatic Labs’ upcoming Star Trek game was first announced in December 2021. At the time, Dramatic Labs revealed that it would release in ...

23/05/2023

Home » News » Xbox Cloud Streaming Device “Project Keystone” Reveal Teased

12 October 2022

An Xbox Cloud Streaming service has been rumored to be in the works at Microsoft for many years. But now the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, seems to have teased an upcoming reveal by showing off the device hardware in an office photo put out by him on social media.

To coincide with this tease, while a only a rumor, this list of details regarding the Keystone streaming device came out…

$99 with Xbox Series S|X controller.

4K HDR streaming (xCloud is currently capped at 1080p).

Play games you own or from Xbox Game Pass.

Remote play from Xbox consoles in your house (like Xbox Series S|X does).

Full Xbox dashboard with support for parties, Discord and DVR, as well as other media apps like Netflix.

Rumored details on Project Keystone.

• $99 with controller

• 4K HDR streaming (xCloud is currently capped at 1080p)

• Play games you own or from Xbox Game Pass

• Remote play from Xbox consoles in your house

• Full Xbox dashboard with support for parties, Discord and DVR. pic.twitter.com/Zjl9U16gZY

— Okami Games () October 10, 2022

Back in May 2022, Microsoft confirmed the existence of “Project Keystone” after the name got leaked in a Windows system files update.

To quote a Microsoft rep at the time: “Our vision for Xbox Cloud Gaming is unwavering, our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, anywhere they want. As announced last year, we’ve been working on a game-streaming device, codename Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console.

As part of any technical journey, we are constantly evaluating our efforts, reviewing our learnings, and ensuring we are bringing value to our customers. We have made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration of the Keystone device. We will take our learnings and refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future.”

Would you be interested in an Xbox Cloud Streaming device? It would let you access Xbox Game Pass games from any screen, as long as it has a USB connection.

About the author

By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.

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Xbox Cloud Streaming Device “Project Keystone” Reveal Teased

Source: Philippines Poverty

Home » News » Xbox Cloud Streaming Device “Project Keystone” Reveal Teased 12 October 2022 An Xbox Cloud Streaming service has been r...

23/05/2023

Those who have played enough Bethesda’s RPGs know that a good chunk of that time is done through conversations. You tend to go from NPC to NPC, accepting or returning quests, or gathering more information. Sometimes you’ll chat up a shopkeeper, other times a king. There are a lot of spoken lines of dialogue in franchises like The Elder Scrolls or Fallout, but Starfield is set to eclipse both. In a Q&A video, Game Director Todd Howard revealed how chatty folks in Starfield will be, as well as revealing the persuasion system used in said conversations.

So, how much dialogue are we talking in Starfield? Well, if you happened to read the headline, that number is over 250,000 spoken lines. For reference, Bethesda Game Studio’s last major RPG release, Fallout 4, contained more than 111,000 lines of spoken dialogue. Skyrim, on the other hand, had more than 60,000. Yes, there’s that many, and yet the “Some may call this junk” line remains permanently etched into my brain.

Starfield also brings back the old persuasion system, revealed today in the video. For those who don’t recall, Bethesda had played with the idea of a system that allowed players to persuade NPCs during conversations. It didn’t always work so well, and was the subject of some criticism in Oblivion.

Let’s talk a bit

However, Howard clearly believes it’ll shine in Starfield. Calling it a “classic Bethesda-style dialogue,” Howard states the persuasion system of Starfield will allow players to make better choices in conversation. You’ll have points to spend in conversation, and it appears the more points you spend the riskier the bet. And you may only have so many turns to get NPCs to see things from your angle. Persuading, however, may be a safer option than letting your guns do the talking.

“It feels like it’s part of the dialogue but you’re spending points to persuade them,” Howard explains. “It feels natural, not like I’ve entered some other mode where I’m not doing regular dialogue and I’m in this mode of persuading you to get what I want.”

The system will clue you in on how dialogue choices are impacting the conversation. Howard says you can watch for body language, or “how [NPCs] emote.” Facial expressions are certainly a part of this, but I wonder how that will work when the person you’re speaking with is wearing a helmet.

Like this guy, for example.

In other Starfield news, the video also goes into detail in how the ships work. Howard explains that the rules of the game use Bethesda’s modified definition of “hard science fiction.” In other words, while your ship has fuel, you can’t run out and become stranded in space. Why? Well, as Howard explains, it’s because it’s a video game. Getting stuck somewhere in the black doesn’t really equate to a fun time. Your ship, when traveling, bends space in order to move distances. So, kind of like in Futurama or, perhaps, Event Horizon. Your fuel supply instead dictates how far your ship can travel.

We’ll certainly see how the systems work when Starfield launches next year.

Starfield persuasion system powers the game’s 250,000 lines of spoken dialogue

Source: Philippines Poverty

Those who have played enough Bethesda’s RPGs know that a good chunk of that time is done through conversations. You tend to go from NPC to N...

22/05/2023

In July, RuneScape developer Jagex introduced its Wilderness rework. Titled Wilderness Reborn, it changed the Wilderness from a dangerous PvP region to a challenging PvM and Slayer spot. The update was well received, but some players felt as though it didn’t do enough. In response to those complaints, Jagex is releasing another Wilderness Update for RuneScape that fleshes out the region’s content.

The most exciting addition is Wilderness Flash Events. Flash Events are skilling-focused events that are designed to give the Wilderness some non-combat focused content. The events run on a set schedule and have a variety of win conditions — all sorts of encounters varying from general skilling to special skilling, plus a few combat tasks.

Successfully completing an encounter will roll the new Wilderness Flash Events drop table. This rewards table contains some exciting items such as the Alchemical Onyx Enchantment, which can be used on alchemical onyx jewelry like the Luck of the Dwarves to grant additional benefits.

An updated Wilderness retreat is coming next week

The upcoming Wilderness Update for RuneScape will also include more. Three mini-quests are being released in the lead-up to the Daughter of Chaos finale, allowing you to delve deep into the Wilderness. The quests are required to unlock the third, fourth, and fifth upgrades to the Infernal Puzzle Box. One of these upgrades provides an XP boost to Brawling Gloves when used in and outside the Wilderness.

The Wilderness Update is coming to RuneScape as soon as next week. Jagex has confirmed that the update will arrive in the next patch on October 17. The Flash Events schedule will begin at 11:00 Game Time and finish at 23:00 Game Time. Once a full rotation of all 13 events is completed, the schedule repeats from the beginning. You can expect the community to create a tool to make it easier to keep track of what Flash Event is active.

(Image source: RuneScape.com). The schedule that the Wilderness Flash Events follow.

Runescape Wilderness Update to add Flash Events, miniquests, and new rewards

Source: Philippines Poverty

In July, RuneScape developer Jagex introduced its Wilderness rework. Titled Wilderness Reborn , it changed the Wilderness from a dangerous ...

21/05/2023

When a game is labeled as a platformer, you’re going to expect certain things from it: dynamic level design, a nice, weighty jump, perhaps an add-on skill or two. As an homage to classic platformers, Trifox has all that plus some. While it falls a little flat in a few areas, it still manages to be a quick-paced and fun 3D platformer that has beginners in mind.

The game opens with a walkthrough of the eponymous Trifox’s life, as told through family photos, before his house is attacked and burglarized by meaner looking foxes (who also happen to be pirates, maybe?). This sequence is played for laughs and sets the tone for the rest of the narrative. Although, I’m not really sure what the narrative is. I just know Trifox’s seemingly important remote was stolen, and he needs it back. The story is minimal, and the humor is juvenile, but it breaks up the levels and adds a touch of cuteness to the game.

One class to rule them all

Once things get going, your first objective is to choose one of the three classes to play as — either a Warrior, Mage, or Engineer. Each class has its own dash-like movement specific to it and nine other abilities that you unlock as you progress through the game. Thankfully, the tutorial is as non-invasive as it could be. Either you read the signs that explain gameplay elements, or you don’t. That’s the extent of it.

The classes are your usual affair. The Warrior is a beefy tank with slow but hard-hitting attacks and decent crowd-control abilities. The Engineer deals with ranged machines like turrets, guns, and missiles. And the Mage is another ranged class that has a lot of defense abilities and vial-based attacks. Its magic feels more similar to dark magic as opposed to elemental.

Trifox’s main strength is its ability tree. Coins gathered in levels can be spent on unlocking tiered abilities, and the game doesn’t restrict loadouts. I assumed I’d stay true to my usual and tank my way through every level, but Trifox really encourages a more versatile playstyle. I often rocked skills from all three classes because no one class has it all. For example, the Mage skill tree is full of high-defense skills, whereas the Engineer feels more geared towards quick bursts of movement and multiple points of attack.

In addition to the platforming, Trifox is also a twin-stick shooter, so mechanically the class abilities should feel very similar as you focus on moving and aiming. Yet with only three classes available, the customization options are vast, and I was shocked to see just how different they all played. That’s not to say they reinvent the wheel, but swapping a Mage skill for an Engineer skill can change how you go about clearing levels.

A whole lot of jumping

When you finally get into the player hub, the first world awaits. With a total of four worlds, each one has three main levels and a boss level. The exception is the fourth world, which switches up the formula a bit for the finale.

The level design is less linear than I like in 3D platformers (I enjoy building momentum as I jump and sprint), but every world still has its own distinct flavor. Moving through each world feels different as you defeat mobs and solve puzzles to advance. Even when the worlds or their enemies look similar, they function differently. For example, one world may have a green ball of grass that deals damage over time. In the icy world, that same enemy is now blue and spits ice that slows you instead. Bosses follow a similar pattern. They all look incredibly different, and while some attacks are essentially the same, they have enough variety to feel like a new experience.

Other than that, everything regarding gameplay and mechanics is as standard as the classes themselves — beat baddies and collect coins. There’s bonus chests and extra gems to collect for more rewards, puzzles to solve, and puddles of water to avoid.

The ground isn’t safe

It’s hard to pinpoint if an issue in a game is a bug with longevity or just a random occurrence. Regardless, I ran into a couple of problems with Trifox, but luckily, they only popped up a few times each. The first occurred at random. I’d fall through the ground or freeze in place unable to hit anything while also becoming fully impenetrable. The only option was to reset the entire level. At the normal difficulty, death checkpoints and autosaves happen often enough that a death never feels that detrimental. A bug that completely freezes gameplay and forces you to start over, however, is.

I also had an issue with a skill that causes Trifox to bang around the screen, hitting any enemy in range for a high amount of damage. It’s a good ability to use when mobs are swarming, but I’d often get stuck in the ground or world elements when the ability was used in tight spaces, which kind of defeated the point.

So about that jumping

Despite a couple of smaller gameplay issues, the main thing I have an issue with is the jump itself. This is a problem I’ve run into before in 3D platformers, but the jump in Trifox is so unbelievably floaty. Combined with the camera that changes angles and skews depth perception pretty often, it was often hard to judge where Trifox would land after hitting a jump.

A part of the learning curve in the game isn’t just figuring out the best ways to solve a puzzle or defeat a boss, you also have to learn how the game handles movement. I like a weighty jump that feels solid and minimal. Especially with a double jump available, having the jump feel like it’s taking place on the moon isn’t necessary.

But that’s really where my complaints begin and end. Trifox is a colorful 3D platformer with enough customization options that replays are worthwhile. Instead of replaying it just to go for new times, you can cater the experience to a completely new gameplay style and the range of difficulties make it an easy game to get into, especially for anyone new to platformers.

Trifox review — Don’t mess with his remote

Source: Philippines Poverty

When a game is labeled as a platformer, you’re going to expect certain things from it: dynamic level design, a nice, weighty jump, perhaps a...

21/05/2023

Home » News » Hideo Kojima’s Next Game (Death Stranding 2?) to Star Elle Fanning

11 October 2022

Actress Elle Fanning (Super 8, The Great) has been confirmed to star in game director Hideo Kojima’s new game!

First, Kojima-san teased he hired a new actress for one of at least two games he has in development, one confirmed to be Death Stranding 2 and another rumored to be a horror game set in the Silent Hill universe (but let’s be real that’s unlikely unless Microsoft pays for the Konami rights and Xbox exclusivity).

Second, fans found a standee at PAX Australia with a QR code linking to the official kojimaproductions.jp website, where you can find the photo confirming Elle Fanning.

And final confirmation came through a Japanese interview with Hideo Kojima that showed motion capture pictures.

Are you excited for Death Stranding 2?

About the author

By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.

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Hideo Kojima’s Next Game (Death Stranding 2?) to Star Elle Fanning

Source: Philippines Poverty

Home » News » Hideo Kojima’s Next Game (Death Stranding 2?) to Star Elle Fanning 11 October 2022 Actress Elle Fanning (Super 8, The ...

20/05/2023

In a wave of virtual reality news today, an absurd list that included my favorite, Among Us VR, we also got more info on the newest virtual reality zombie adventure. Zombies and virtual reality are a natural pairing, which makes any new VR-zombie release exciting. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution (what a mouthful) was previously announced with a tentative release date for the “end of the year.” However, we now know exactly what month we can expect this game to release.

It is, indeed, coming out at the end of the year. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution‘s new release date is set for December 1 on the Meta Quest, the perfect month to gift yourself a VR headset to decapitate zombies in the comfort of your own home. A new gameplay trailer shows off some of the zed action you can expect with the new game, with tons of new weapons to collect and huge buildings to scale.

Zombie virtual reality

With the brand new game comes a brand new challenge, including a new enemy known as the “Axeman” who seeks to hunt you down. Mark Domowicz, game director on Chapter 2: Retribution at Skydance Interactive, stated in a press release: “you will need to use your brain to figure out how to handle this new level of threat. He is actually a great example of how our gameplay is evolving for Chapter 2. The level of challenge throughout the game has increased in both scale and variety, and we can’t wait to see how our Tourists are going to handle what we are throwing at them.”

While you’ll explore New Orleans, you’ll encounter new locations as well such as the French Quarter. Overall, this sequel is shaping out to be a bigger experience than the original, and fans of any zombie game might want to consider checking it out. Watch the gameplay trailer below if you haven’t already, and mark your calendars for December 1 if killing zombies in VR is your jam.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution gets a December release date

Source: Philippines Poverty

In a wave of virtual reality news today , an absurd list that included my favorite, Among Us VR , we also got more info on the newest virtu...

20/05/2023

Familiarity is kind of the end goal for a lot of retro first-person shooters. Cultic: Chapter One could be described as a more explicit spiritual successor to Blood, whereas Dusk was more “what if Blood had a full 3D sequel that was good?” The thing is, Cultic: Chapter One doesn’t have as much of a unique identity as Dusk. However, this is still a mostly killer throwback with a good amount of meat to it in spite of a few balance issues and the obvious fact that this is only the first part of the game. At least it’s priced accordingly.

You’ve probably already guessed the story from the game’s title. There’s a cult worshipping some Lovecraftian being that is up to some grisly business. You’re on the trail of a journalist who gets wrapped up with said cult while searching for a missing person. The cult members themselves are very reminiscent of Blood‘s, but, surprisingly, are even more reminiscent of the cultists from Ion Fury, down to having cultists in brown robes be the simplest fodder and cultists in red robes posing more of a threat. Similarly, it has an obsession with grisly headshots atop the sprites you’re facing.

The visuals in Cultic: Chapter One are intentionally dated, with textures and sprites designed to be extra chunky and lower in resolution than you’d imagine. Somehow, this aesthetic combined with the art direction is kind of gorgeous. The game almost looks like a watercolor come to life at times, especially when you can see the striking nighttime skybox that mesmerized me whenever I glanced upon it. However, the game’s color palette is all too fond of a spectrum of earth and rust. The environments are often a different shade of brown, whether you’re in a mine, out in nature, or indoors. It gets monotonous.

It’s not a cult!

The level design is solid in Cultic: Chapter One, even if it can be a bit too mundane for its own good. There are memorable locations here and there, such as an abandoned town or the asylum, but you’ll do a fair amount of wandering in narrow, brown corridors looking for progression items. Sometimes you need a key or a doohickey to operate some contraption. One level starts you off in a dark forest where you have to find a cog and a wheel to operate a drawbridge. A couple of other levels have you searching out a can of fuel to get a generator going so you can power a lift.

There are 10 levels included in this chapter, although only eight of them are full levels. The other two are boss battles, which I’ll get into in a bit. The idea is that you pay $10 USD for the first chapter and then any subsequent chapters will be sold as DLC. I almost didn’t write this as a full review as both my and our EIC’s thought process was, “it’s not the complete game, so it shouldn’t be a full review.” But since the price for this chapter is set and it’ll be sold on its own no matter what, a scored review does make more sense to me.

As for the action, well, that’s the best thing about Cultic: Chapter One. As I said, the main enemies are a bit too familiar. Brown-robed cultists use axes, blue-robed ones have pistols, and red-robed foes have shotguns. Sometimes they have machine guns or gr***de launchers. There’s also a heavily-armored enemy. Some foes are of the unliving, including zombies, skeletons, and undead knights. Then you’ve got your Eldritch abominations, such as a big thing with sideways teeth that vomits blood at you. You’ll even go up against a supremely annoying chainsaw bastard. Lovely.

Hey, man! Nice shot!

The movement is nimble and everything you’d want from a throwback FPS. Crouching while running leads to a slide, but ticking the “always run” box makes it so you have to walk at normal speed to slide, which is off. The guns feel great and they’re all continually useful. The basic pistol was actually my go-to weapon for the whole game, as it can take out almost everything with a couple of headshots. Body shots are kind of a waste of time in Cultic: Chapter One, as the enemies take a lot more hits that way. It’s a bit weird that dispatching foes via headshot takes as many hits as it does, but the game does an excellent job of making this work well within the gameplay flow.

After decapitating an enemy with well-placed headshots, time will often slow down, accompanied by the colors becoming muted, and you can use these moments to do some more serious damage. As for the rest of the arsenal, there’s your shotgun, carbine rifle, machine gun, flamethrower, and gr***de launcher. I think there’s one more rifle, but I almost never used it. I did mostly stick to the pistol and shotgun (especially for shielded enemies and more dangerous foes), but your mileage may vary.

As you explore the levels in Cultic: Chapter One, you’ll find weapon parts that you’ll use to upgrade your weapons at workbenches. Naturally, upgrading greatly incentivizes exploration, which is always nice in these classic-style games.

On the normal difficulty, Cultic: Chapter One is quite lenient. There are tons and tons of health pickups and enemies also drop them with some frequency. This chapter took me about six hours to get through, but I also took my time to explore and made liberal use of save states, as I love replaying encounters to minimize how much damage I take and how much ammo I use. There are also three survival maps in case you want to test your mettle with those. Killing enemies grants you cash that you can use to purchase more weapons and ammo here, which made it remind me of the Mercenaries modes in the Resident Evil games.

Time for a speedrun

Highly skilled players who tend to move at a lightning pace might be able to knock the game out in just a few hours, as levels are really only about 20 minutes long — save for those boss levels. These are the most underwhelming sections of Cultic: Chapter One. The first one, which is the game’s sixth level, is kind of maddening, as it mostly sees you fighting waves of enemies in and around a church. The issue is that you aren’t allowed to save at any point in the level, which is ridiculous. New enemies pipe in kind of slowly, so dying means you have to spend minutes waiting for enemies to show up.

It really throws a wrench in the game’s pacing and feels needlessly restrictive, especially since the waves go on for minutes before the boss shows up. This section ends with you fighting two chainsaw-wielding enemies at once. If they hit you, you’ll probably die, as their chainsaws tend to cut away at you ’til you’re dead. They also throw bear traps which root you to the spot, making it easier for them to make you start the whole level again just because you made a single mistake.

After you clear all the waves, you fight a very easy stationary boss. Generally, the boss can be taken out by just throwing a bunch of dynamite at it and then shooting said dynamite, taking away most of its health in one go. The first time I got to the boss, I died when it was almost dead because a machine gun cultist spawned in and shot me in the back due to me not knowing enemies would continue to spawn in. Guess who had to start the whole level over again? I can’t stand that s**t. It’s not even hard; it just wastes your time.

You’re just gonna stand there?

The final boss of Chapter One is similarly disappointing, but at least you don’t have to fight any enemy waves. Just a big ol’ stationary boss that’s only mildly threatening that you can take out super quick with more dynamite. Sure, it pipes some annoying enemies in from the sides which can be a bit of a pain to hit if you don’t use the scoped weapon. Speaking of which, one thing that annoyed the hell out of me is the way weapon accuracy works in this game. It’s surprisingly inconsistent between the player’s weapons and the enemies.

For instance, the pistol loses a ton of accuracy beyond medium range. The pistol enemies, however, have no issue hitting you from across the fu***ng map. The shotgun here is much like shotguns in other games: highly inaccurate at range. But lo and behold, the shotgun cultists can basically snipe you with it. This vexed me regularly as well as damaged immersion.

But none of this is a deal-breaker. Cultic: Chapter One is well worth playing for anyone who wants a few hours of a really strong throwback FPS, especially considering the low price tag. I just hope chapter two has a more varied color palette.

Cultic: Chapter One review — They only play the hits

Source: Philippines Poverty

Familiarity is kind of the end goal for a lot of retro first-person shooters. Cultic: Chapter One could be described as a more explicit spi...

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